


Before He Broke Me [WIP]

by LowFructoseCornSyrup



Category: Original Work
Genre: Actually this was posted on those two sites before...and I only just decided to post it here now, Additional Warnings Apply, Angst, Borderline Personality Disorder, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Flashbacks, I was extremely hesitant to post this...for rather obvious reasons..., If any of these tags trigger you PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't read this, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, Original Character(s), Other, Past Rape/Non-con, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rape Recovery, Recovery, Sad, Serious, Strained Friendships, Strained Relationships, Trauma, Triggers, Warnings May Change, Your mental health is important, work-in-progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 21:07:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29922843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LowFructoseCornSyrup/pseuds/LowFructoseCornSyrup
Summary: Everyone has stories...but sometimes those stories go untold.When Katherina Ross was sixteen, her life was ruined on a tragic winter night in the woods--in fear that the past will repeat itself, she struggles to move on.A year later, Katie still wrestles with mental and emotional reactions to the trauma--while attempting to keep up with relationships, school, a brutal court case, and recovery therapy.But the teenage girl cannot forget what happened, and she refuses to tell anyone besides those who were involved...Then she learns about the National Cretford Essay Contest...and suddenly Katherina knows what she has to do.[ ⚠️ THIS STORY WILL CONTAIN MATURE SCENES IN THE FUTURE! YOUR MENTAL HEALTH IS IMPORTANT; READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION! ⚠️ ]
Relationships: Dominique Sylvester/Celia Sylvester (formerly), Katherina Ross/Leona Parsons, Original Female Character/Original Female Character
Kudos: 1





	Before He Broke Me [WIP]

_**Then** _

The air is cool and crisp in the forest, the smell of winter abundant; there's a slight chill in the breeze, but my dark-red polyester jacket manages to prevent the shivers that would otherwise be quivering down my spine.

I've always been sensitive to the cold.

There's also the smell of dirt in the atmosphere, exuding from the wet soil beneath my five-month-old messy sneakers; the footwear used to be white, but I've used them up to the point where they have turned an ugly gray.

I smile brightly at the person seated next to me--a girl with braided blonde hair, a scatter of freckles upon her cheeks, and dazzling dark-blue brown eyes.

She is absolutely amazing...

Oh, I guess I haven't introduced myself—I'm Katherina Ross. I don't think I'm much for looks, with my straight dark brown hair and green eyes--which I've heard that only two percent of the world have, but they aren't all they're cracked up to be. I'd take deep browns or beautiful blues any day.

Especially ones like Leona's...

Someone who just met Leona Parsons might say that she seems kind, supportive, and confident; I say that she is beautiful, brilliant, compassionate, strong, and funny. While the hypothetical newcomer wouldn't be wrong in their description of her, they're missing out on a flurry of details.

Leona is and has always been so much more.

Then again, I might be idolizing her just a *wee* bit--she is my girlfriend, after all.

Okay, we've only been together for a few months...

But still...that girl is wondrous. I don't know how she ever deemed me deserving of her (of course, no matter how much I tell her, she can't see her own worth).

Leona smiles that gorgeous smile at me as she scoots closer and divulges joyfully, "Wayne should be here soon--he's probably out there trying to get bars on his phone."

I giggle. Wayne Sylvester is my best friend, and a huge gamer--really! I swear that boy buys at least three new video games every week, and the expensive ones, too! The most money I've ever spent on a game was five dollars on a puzzle-adventure app he had recommended; Wayne purchases those twenty- to thirty-dollar complex action-fighting games. I like to joke that he spends more time focusing on Steam than on school.

But I wouldn't have him any other way.

A number of the people at school tease Wayne and me, saying that we are totally in love and that we should date--it's their loss of knowledge on the fact that I'm only into girls.

We're happy as just friends, and that's the way we intend to stay.

Perhaps I should explain why we all are in the forest in the dead of winter: we're on vacation! Wayne's father, Mister Dominique Sylvester, is a successful businessman--one of those rich guys, you know--and he agreed to let his son's friends come along as guests on the planned vacation to the Vail Ski Resort. I think I know the reason he's letting us join them.

Mister Sylvester is lonely--he and Wayne's mother divorced a few years ago, and I guess he still isn't really over her. I mean, I know that I'd be the same way if Leona and I broke up.

Anyway--Wayne's father is a really nice, polite man, not at all like the stereotypical snooty white-collars the media likes to portray. Yes, he's so invested in his work to the point where he sometimes stays locked up in his office for hours (according to Wayne, anyway)...but he isn't a bad guy.

Sometimes I wonder why Wayne's mother divorced him--I remember Celia Sylvester as being just as kind as her husband (perhaps even more so, in the fact that she was one to volunteer for almost any organization in need), and I had never witnessed any major animosity between the two of them when I visited my friend's house. 

But whenever Wayne goes to visit his female parent and attempts to ask her about what drove them apart, however, she skims around the subject--or that's what he's told me.

It's a bit strange...but I suppose she has her own reasons. I'm not practically worried about Mister Sylvester.

I trust him.

Sure enough, the video game boy finally arrives at the scene.

"Where were you?" I question with a hint of amusement; he rolls his eyes and replies, "Just sneaking around--seeing what there is to see."

Wayne pauses, his light-brown eyes fully taking in the tranquil atmosphere of the forest--it's quite dark, despite it being the middle of the day.

"They're really pretty--the trees, I mean."

"You act like you haven't ever seen them before!" Leona cracks, reaching across me and punching him jokingly on the shoulder. "Too stuck in Nekopara world! Get off your computer and live a little!"

"Shush," he quips back with a smirk. "Besides, I don't play Nekopara."

"But you wish you did," I pipe up, wiggling my eyebrows. "I've heard some _interesting_ things about that game--"

"It doesn't matter, because I don't play it!" Wayne cuts me off, blushing red but still smiling; pivoting to Leona, he poses, "And how do you know about it?"

She shuffles her shoulders in a mock-obnoxious way and gives an adorable giggle. "Maybe I have played it, if you know what I mean~."

The two continue to tease each other as I consider what my best friend had said--not about the dirty anime game, but about the trees.

They are indeed beautiful...

I've noticed in literature that for some strange reason, forests are often portrayed as spooky, eerie, **ominous**.

But that doesn't seem to be the case with White River Forest; this place is magnificent. There's the earthly scents, the twittering of the birds, the rustling of the wind, the flowing of the trees--I could go on and on.

Oh, you're probably wondering why three teenagers are in the middle of a national forest by themselves with no adults--don't worry! All of our parents are here; we just went off to do a little exploring, and we never venture off too far for them to reach.

If they need us, they know where to find us--and additionally, we have our phones with us for easy contact.

Although Leona is probably right--a signal might be hard to get out here. But I believe that as long as we stick together, we will be okay; as the old Persian proverb goes, "It is better to be in chains with friends than to be in a garden with strangers."

One of the unwritten rules of literature (no irony intended) is that characters often jinx themselves with phrases such as, "What could go wrong?" or "We'll be just fine, I promise." Writer though I am, I am not trying to do that--I'm perfectly aware that there is always a chance of a calamity, which is why I'm prepared.

You have to understand that I don't go throwing myself into dangerous situations like adults think teenagers do. I don't rebel against authority...okay, I did get my ears dually-pierced without my parents' direct permission, but that's the most I've ever done; besides, some holes in the ears are substantially better than the stunts my classmates pull, like piercing their belly buttons. Yuck!

Back to the topic--I'm also careful what information I reveal to people online, and I don't stray too far from home without friends and/or adults with me.

Don't get me wrong--I'm not saying that I'm a perfect teen...but I do what I can to stay safe. I've read enough books to know the dangerous instances there are in this crazy world.

I'm not naïve.

As Leona and Wayne chat about the latter's newest game--Hollow Knight--I observe my parents and my fourteen-year-old brother Brandon deviating from the forest path to us.

"Katie! Wayne! Lee!" my mother beckons us over. "There you are! Come here--we're going to the cabin!"

I've never been inside a cabin--never mind lived in one--so I'm anxious to see what this brings; the three of us rise from the wet dirt and head toward my guardians, who are soon joined by Leona's mother and father and Mister Sylvester.

I slide my hand into my girlfriend's and trek to their amazed-at-the-beauty-of-this-place faces.

Let us see what this brings!


End file.
